HELICES E-PROPS : HISTORY

The ELECTRAVIA company designs, produces and markets the innovative propellers for aviation E-PROPS.

The company is also known for its electric motorizations systems intended for leisure aviation (engines, controllers, dedicated instrumentation, batteries = > the E-MOTOR department), as well as for aircraft equipped with these new successful and silent propulsion systems made between 2008 and 2013.

At present, the company has temporarily suspended the electric motorizations, while waiting for batteries allowing a bigger autonomy. The team dedicates itself to the design and to the manufacturing of the E-PROPS propellers, which meet a big technical and commercial success.

E-PROPS PROPELLERS : SOME GREAT DATES

- October 2006 : beginning of the ELECTRAVIA project

- December 2007 : Electra, the first 100 % electric aircraft in the world, makes a 48 mn first flight pilot Christian Vandamme. A immediate international recognition !

- September 2008: official creation of the ELECTRAVIA - HELICES E-PROPS company

- May 2011 : E-Fenix, first 2-seater paratrike in the world with QD2 E-PROPS propeller

- June 2011 : new world speed record [283 km/h] with electric MC15E Cri-Cri during the 2011 Paris Air Show

- August 2011 : flight tests of the MC30E Firefly with E-PROPS with special designs

- December 2011 : first flights of electric motorglider ElectroLight 2, demonstrator of ELECTRAVIA's innovations with very quiet E-PROPS propeller

- February 2012 : new range of very light and innovative carbon propellers E-PROPS NG for paramotors

Design in digital wind tunnel, optimization with the LmPTR software, elaboration of manufacturing's processes, tests (numerous!) and materials choices, implementation of tools and equipments, brought out of the first models, ground tests then in flight tests : ELECTRAVIA carbon propellers have required 3 years of relentless works, 7 days a week, to succeed in finalizing them. Many tests, many failures, some successes, then still tests, compelling periods followed by discouragement's moments, to obtain at the end an efficient manufacturing"s process and very light and efficient carbon propellers. The propellers of 3rd generation !

- June 2012 : first flights and presentation in a big airshow (Mondial de Paramoteurs de Basse-Ham 2012) of the 1rst electric powered 2-seaters paraglider, the E-SPIDER, with QD2 E-PROPS propeller

- October 2013 : 20 models allow to answer to a lot of needs. The E-Props propellers are now marketed in 30 countries

- January 2014 : between July 2013 et January 2014, the fatigue tests campaigns have validated a MTBO for the carbon E-Props propeller of 2.000 Hours.

- March 2014 : the Electravia team has decided to suspend its activities of development, integration and marketing of electric motorizations for aircraft, in order to dedicate itself completely to the manufacturing of its carbon E-Props propellers. Electravia is waiting for better batteries, to increase the flight time and reduce the charge time.

- April 2014 : At the AERO 2014 airshow in Friedrichshafen, the E-Props team has presented its new carbon propeller for Rotax 912S, iS and 914. GLORIEUSE is a 5-blades in flight variable pitch propeller. It is by far the lightest variable pitch propeller of the market : 4,7 kg.

- October 2014 : a new worskop is built, and now the company has a total of 1.700 m², dedicated to propellers manufacturing.

- March 2015 : the E-Props propellers have a great success all over the world (more than 50 countries). Those propellers are the lightest on the market.

- Sept 2015 : the team is composed of 12 people.

- March 2016 : E-Props presents its new propeller, EXCALIBUR-6 (6-blades), with a special H²D concept. It is designed on about the same principle as some anti-torque tail rotors of helicopters, to significantly reduce vibrations and noise. This propeller has a thrust of 350 kg (on a 150 hp engine).

- June 2016 : E-Props has now 19 people for the design, manufacturing and marketing of the propellers. The company is now the 1st French propeller manufacturer (people, production and sales), and also the 1st French supplier in non certified aviation field.

The annual production's capacité is 7.500 carbon blades.

The E-Props propellers are sold in 56 different countries.

A great success due to a lot of work and passion !

- October 2016 : Pascal joins the team as sales manager for paramotors propellers. 20 people are now working for E-Props. The company ensures the production monitoring by RFID and KANBAN method. Beginning of the works to realize new workshops, in order to multiply by 4 the yearly production (target at the end of 2017 : 30.000 blades / year).

- December 2016 : the E-Props propellers are mounted on 160 different models of ultralights / aircraft (without counting paramotors)

- April 2017 : hiring of an IT manager, to take responsability for programs and computers park necessary for the digital follow-up of the production.

- May 2017 : beginning of the building of new workshops (curing and injection). The production capacity is growing from 12.500 to 18.500 blades/year, always increasing up to the goal of 30.000 blades/year at the end of the year 2017. Production of some models is suspended to produce more of the common models. E-Props propellers are now sold in 62 countries.

- July 2017 : E-PROPS has implemented two new production equipment :

- a machining centre custom designed and built to allow the dimensional analysis, the rectification and the finish of the carbon parts automatically, without dismantling of the part. It is equipped with a directional brooch on 5-axis programmed according to the digital definition of the part, with a wide tool store. The precision of measure by the scanner laser is of 5/100th of millimeter.

- a professional 3D printer, in order to realize equipments, molds, prototypes and of pre-series parts, as well as lighter functional components.

- December 2017 : the production capacity is now 22.500 blades/year, increasing to the target of 30.000 blades/year. E-Props propellers are now sold in 70 countries and equipped more than 175 different models of ultralights / LSA. The company counts from now on 23 employees.